Your Faith Has Healed You

He came back to Jesus, shouting, Praise God! He fell to the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done.

Does it seem to you that sometimes we are like the other 9 lepers? We take for granted what happens in our daily lives? We go through life having good things happen to us and we don't even stop to think that God has his finger in every facet of our daily lives.

How often do we fall at the feet of our Heavenly Father, and thank him for what he has done for us? Because of his son Jesus, we are redeemed and reconciled with him. We were lost and in darkness, dead in the spirit until Jesus healed us and brought us to the light with his life.

Give Thanks to the Lord, for he is good! Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from you enemies (sin and death). For he has gathered the exiles (the redeemed) from many lands, from east and west, from north and south. Psalms 107:1-3

May we always take a moment and reflect on the blessings that our Lord gives to us.

Our salvation and our future with him, the protection that he provides for all of us, our family, seeing people we love come to him, our good friends, our church family, our country's liberty and the freedom to worship our Lord, our good health and healing from illnesses, our home, our jobs, opportunities to do God's work and being his ambassadors; the blessing list is endless. As the one leper did, may we always come back to Jesus and say, "Praise God."

For All the Blessings of the Year

For all the blessings of the year, for all the friends we hold so dear,

for peace on earth, both far and near. We thank you, Lord.

For life and health, those common things, which every day and hour brings,

for home, where our affection clings. We thank you, Lord.

For love of yours which never tires, which all our better thought inspires,

and warms our lives with heavenly fires. We thank you, Lord.

Robert N. Quaile, 1867

"Now God, we give thanks, and praise to your glorious name."

1 Chronicles 29:13

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Luke (17:11-19) tells a story of Jesus and 10 lepers. The lepers stood at a distance, as they were expected to. But they called out to Jesus, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

Jesus instructed them all to go and show themselves to the priests, saying that they had been cleansed. They all went to the priests, and all were declared as cleansed of their disease. But only one of the ten returned to thank Jesus, and he was a Samaritan (not highly respected by the Jews).

Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"

Why is it that we so often ask God to help us and so seldom really stop to give Him the glory and praise and thanks for all that He has done. Maybe we think that this would have happened anyway, that we did it on our own, that God would have provided an answer quicker if it was really Him, or some other excuse. God really does love you and does respond to your heartfelt requests to Him. Take time to thank and praise Him today for all that He has done.

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In Luke 17:11-19, we learn that Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem and that he is met by ten men who are suffering from leprosy. They ask for his mercy and his healing. He sends them to the Priests and they are healed. Nine continue on their way, but one returns and throws himself at Jesus' feet and thanks him. Jesus enabled these men to be healed of one of the worst ailments of His time, yet only one returned to thank Him. Why didn't they come back to thank Him? Were they too busy? Were they in a hurry to be on their journey? Did they assume that He would automatically know that they were thankful? Reading this text reminds me that we need to be thankful for what we have been given. I know in my own life, I am sometimes guilty of not pausing to thank those who have blessed me or those who have done things for me.

During this time of Thanksgiving, it is easy to pause and remember what we are thankful for, the easy things. I am thankful for a loving family and loyal friends. Thankful for living in, what I feel, is the greatest country in the world. I am thankful for a church community where I can feel welcome, worship as I see fit, and be myself, free from judgment.

These are easy things to be thankful for, and reasons, among others, that I am sure many of us can relate to. But, after reading the verse, I realize that the one thing that I don't do enough is giving praise and thanks to God. He is the One who saved me when I asked for help, much like the lepers who encountered Jesus. In spite of all my faults and my past, and future, sins, He has accepted me as His. Although I am nowhere near worthy of His grace and blessings, He has bestowed both upon me. It is He who provided me with all the things I mentioned above. He is the one that has given me new life. So, I think I will take the time right now and say, "Thank you God, for sending your Son, Jesus, to save me and to be my Savior". I want to be like the Samaritan that returned, not like the nine who took Him for granted. I am reminded that I need to be thankful in good times, as well as bad. He will always be with me, no matter what. Who wouldn't be thankful for a relationship like that?

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Lk 17:11- 19

Do you recognize where your blessings come from?

Is it possible to see the difficult circumstances in life as blessings?

What are specific things you are thankful for?

Is it possible that the things you are thankful for have come from Jesus?

Do you thank Jesus for the things He has given you?

Read Psalm 136 and see if there are things you are thankful for that you have not noticed before. Try to give thanks to the Lord for all He has done for you this week.

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